Finance

In context, overall, the richest 400 people in the US have as much wealth as 154 million Americans combined, that’s 50 percent of the entire country. The top economic 1 percent of the US population now has a record 40 percent of all wealth, and have more wealth than 90 percent of the population combined. … If you think people in this income level don’t control the US political process, you are not paying attention. After they caused this economic crisis, they got the government to give them trillions of dollars in taxpayer support, and then, after taking our tax dollars, they gave themselves all-time record-breaking bonuses. 2009 was an all-time record-breaking year for Wall Street executives bringing in a total of $145 billion. And then, in 2010, they raised the bar even higher, breaking the all-time record set the year before by pulling in another $149 billion.

Anti-Trust

EU Android ban not EU wide anymore

Essentially, Samsung is arguing that Apple cannot have it both ways: either it is the general tablet appearance that counts, or the details; but either way, Samsung is in the clear. … [Apple] is not just attacking Samsung in Europe: it turns out that it is also suing Motorola there over alleged infringements on its design. It’s clear, then, that Apple is seeking to stop any serious rival from making a tablet with rounded corners and a border. … This episode exposes not only Apple’s increasingly rotten core, but something even more serious: the insidious nature of the Community design.

The Düsseldorf regional court said Tuesday it partly lifted the preliminary injunction banning Samsung Electronics Co. from selling its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet computer in most of the European Union. A court spokesman said that since it was disputable whether it is possible for a German court to ban a company headquartered in South Korea from selling goods outside Germany, the court decided to lift the injunction for countries outside Germany for now

That did not last long but it should never have happened.

Google buys the Patents to End All Patents and One of the Finest Tech Companies on Earth.

If the idea is to scare off potential Android OEM’s or purchasers of Android-powered phones, this sort of scare tactic is just rubbish. It has failed in the past, and it will fail this time.

Groklaw calls out the latest wave of GPL compliance FUD which targets Android this time. There won’t, however, be a truce in the patent wars because Apple and Microsoft are already fighting for their existence and can’t survive free competition.

Motorola found a Google deal more digestible because Microsoft had no interest in running a hardware business and was essentially interested in Motorola’s vast collection of patents. Google moved aggressively, and at $40 a share, Google is now paying a 60 percent premium to Motorola’s recent stock price.

Motorola’s total commitment to Android in mobile devices is one of many reasons that there is a natural fit between our two companies. Together, we will create amazing user experiences that supercharge the entire Android ecosystem for the benefit of consumers, partners and developers everywhere. This acquisition will not change our commitment to run Android as an open platform. Motorola will remain a licensee of Android and Android will remain open. We will run Motorola as a separate business. Many hardware partners have contributed to Android’s success and we look forward to continuing to work with all of them to deliver outstanding user experiences.

evidence Apple supplied the judge in Germany to prompt the issuance of an injunction against importing the Samsung Gallaxy Tab was falsified. Apple changed the aspect ratio of the image to match more closely the iPad

So Apple and Microsoft Florian’s dream, and real damage done, of excluding Android from the EU is pure flim flam.

PJ Laughs at The Register’s Andrew Orlowski

Hahaha. Andrew Orlowski with his fist in the air. Speaking of journalism and bias. Openness really bugs the guy, I guess. He thought Microsoft was going to prevail. What? You thought Google was stupid? It was going to just lay down and die? Hahaha. I thought the article was so funny, I just had to share it with you, not because I think he’s right about a single thing. …

Second, it’s critical to remember who buys Android devices versus iOS devices: kids buy Android (“It’s cheap!”) while adults largely buy iOS (“Pricey, but it makes me cool with the other soccer dads!”). … Android hasn’t won because it’s better. It has won because it’s cheaper.

He’s negative, assuming Google will now act like Apple and ignores everything besides cell phones and tablets. Both Motorola and Android have an impressive reputation for quality, sullied to an extent by silly telco demands. The cell phone chart is worth looking at. Somehow, Asay and The Register spin Apple as a bigger villain and loser than Microsoft.

Verizon Communications Inc. said Google Inc.’s $12.5 billion bid for Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. was a welcome development because it may bring “stability” to a recent slate of smartphone patent disputes, though it stopped short of totally endorsing the proposed acquisition.

PR/AstroTurf/Lobbying

Al Jazeera English was also denied credentials on the grounds that ALEC was not an “international” conference … the majority of ALEC’s conference events and even speaker are sponsored by Fortune 500 firms and trade associations. Governor Bobby Jindal was sponsored by big PhRMA. Dick Armey by Visa. I am not kidding.

These lawmakers were wined and dined by corporate giants on the cheap and perhaps poisoned with more than tobacco and alcohol. While I can heartily recommend my home town of New Orleans’ vast array of sensual delights, only a cheapskate would sponsor a conference in the heat of August. If you are going to have seafood, make sure you are rich enough to do what BP did and fly it in from out of state, but not from Texas and Florida, or stick with crawfish and fresh water catch.

Civil Rights

it’s clear that the torture of a U.S. citizen by the U.S. military shocks the conscience of the ordinary person. But I hope that the torture of a non-U.S. citizen by the U.S. military also shocks the conscience of an ordinary American and that those cases at some point will be allowed to proceed.

Contents

MacDonald was previously the lead system and network administrator at a small hosting company based in Michigan. However, he is best known for his contributions to the Linux open source community. MacDonald has written and continues to maintain a number of popular software applications used by web hosts including Linux Malware Detect (LMD), Advanced Policy Firewall (APF), Brute Force Detection (BFD), System Integrity Monitor (SIM), and a half dozen other applications through his website, R-fx Networks (rfxn.com).

Desktop

I’m not saying that Linux will be number one next year or anything. However, I am saying that Linux is just as capable of taking on Microsoft as it has ever been. Probably fifty times more capable, and I don’t see it weakening one bit.

Kernel Space

The 2.6.32.45, 2.6.33.18, and 3.0.2 stable updates are now available. They contain the usual pile of fixes. All three updates also include a change how TCP sequence numbers are generated; a (relatively) insecure 24-bit MD4 algorithm has been replaced by 32-bit MD5.

Applications

We have recently started bringing out more eyecandy stuff as we really think that Linux has to shed its “old command only interface for geeks” image to make it appealing to more people and as you know there is strength in numbers. Yeah we know Ubuntu has changed that a lot!! but hey allow us to speed up the process. Here is our take on some of the most appealing themes to juice up your Mplayer experience.

Whether you have a black screen, a flashing screen, just can’t get past the login screen or you’re stuck in the command-line, you’re about to learn a few tricks that will help you get your desktop back to full working order. You will even learn how to open multiple virtual desktops.

Games

It’s lunch time, and you have 5 minutes to chill out and forget about those reports due by the end of the week. You could play some solitaire, but why limit yourself to the same old dull card games? Some of my favorite games were made for the Commodare 64, and to this day still provide a quick and enjoyable distraction for those otherwise dull desk based lunch breaks.

On one of the slowest news days of the year came the welcomed announcement of Ultimate Edition 3.0 “Gamers.” The Ultimate Edition, once dubbed Ubuntu Ultimate, is based or derived from Lubuntu, but the “Gamers” Edition takes it to another level by offering an environment suitable for gaming as well as dozens of pre-installed games and emulators.

Desktop Environments

Shell says there have been two leaks at the Gannet Alpha platform, just over 100 miles east of Aberdeen. The first was discovered on 10 August, and has already spilled about 1,300 barrels of oil into the sea – more than the amount spilled across the whole of 2009. It claims that the first leak is ‘pretty much dead’ and the second is minor

One of the highlights of the conference was the panel discussion about copyright assignment. It’s a complex topic, but the panelists brought up good arguments and lot of food for thought. Mark spoiled his argumentation a bit at the end by introducing his generosity concept. This certainly has its place when talking about motivation in a community, but in the context of legal agreements with companies it’s very questionable, if generosity should be a dominant concept. My takeaway from the panel and some other discussions I had at the summit is that KDE e.V. is in a very good position here with the Fiduciary License Agreement, we optionally provide for KDE contributors. This provides a good balance of the different interests and adds safety for contributors and community.

Debian Family

Derivatives

So bodhi is a Pali/Sanskrit work that loosely translates to “enlightenment”. They seem to make heavy reference to this lineage in their artwork and as well as their naming. For example, they have two recommended software sets:
Nikhila (meaning entire/all in Hindi) – their full featured software collection Pratibha (meaning light in Hindi) – their lightweight software collection

Bodhi Linux itself is very new (first release, 1.0.0, was out March 2011). Version 1.0.0 was based off of Ubuntu 10.04LTS as was their update 1.1.0, which was released in May, but with the 2.6.39 kernel and Midori 0.3.6. According to their website, they are targeting only the LTS (long term support) Ubuntu versions, which come out every 2 years. They will have quarterly updates to keep their software fresh in between. I don’t have much interest in bleeding edge, but 2 year release cycles are a bit much. I haven’t even gotten anywhere yet and I’m already questioning my decision.

Canonical/Ubuntu

Flavours and Variants

Linux Mint 11 LXDE has been released, offering a number of improvements in the UI, a faster update manager, better overlay scrollbars and more. The release comes just under three months after the release of the main version of Linux Mint 11. In the LXDE version, Mint 11′s Software Manager has been made more visually attractive with larger icons and a better layout and the Mint-X theme works better with more applications. What’s New in Linux Mint 11 has screenshots and details of these and other changes in the Ubuntu-based distribution.

The GENIVI Alliance, an automotive and consumer electronics industry association driving the development and adoption of an open In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) reference platform, today announced that the Linux Foundation’s MeeGo IVI Project has been approved as GENIVI compliant.

Phones

Android

Hot on the heels of news that it will be acquired by Google, Motorola Mobility announced a 1GHz, Android 2.3-ready “plus” version of a rugged phone it first released last year. The 3.7-inch Defy+ will go head to head with a 3.6-inch Samsung Xcover announced last week in Germany, since both handsets are said to offer IP67-rated resistance to water, dust, and scratches.

Fusion Garage announced a 10.1-inch tablet and four-inch smartphone, both running an “Grid OS” operating system that’s based on Android — and said to run its apps — but adds predictive features and a grid-like UI. Available for purchase now, the Grid-10 tablet features an Nvidia Tegra 2 processor and 1366 x 768-pixel screen resolution, while the Grid-4 smartphone due later this year offers a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor.

One thing that’s clear is that Google will obtain an impressive patent arsenal if its acquisition of Motorola goes through. Among the many things that aren’t so clear, though, is what the deal could mean for the development of the Android platform. Will Google maintain a distance from Motorola operations? Or will it use the company’s assets to closely supervise the design of an uber Android handset?

Mozilla has made a “release candidate” of the Mozilla Public Licence (MPL) 2.0 available and, if no significant problems are found with this version, it plans to make it the released version of the MPL 2.0.

FSF/FSFE/GNU/SFLC

Today, the Software Freedom Conservancy announces the appointment of two new members on its Board of Directors. The new directors, Peter Brown and Stormy Peters, bring even more excellent expertise to Conservancy’s Directorship, which includes many substantially experienced non-profit and Open Source and Free Software project leaders.

Openness/Sharing

The likes of Linux, Mozilla, Google, Amazon, Netflix and eBay all grew up in an online world, and with a majority of Gen Y employees. As a result, they are managed in much more enlightened way than their traditional competitors. And this provides inspiration to others.

Programming

Friend: Free software doesn’t cost anything, so they call it “free”
Programmer: You’re wrong, young padawan…
Programmer: Free as in freedom, not as in “Free beer”… But most people usually misunderstand…
Programmer: For example, I did a freelance job in January, but I think they thought that was a “free”lance like “free beer”, because they haven’t paid me yet…

Two men have been jailed for four years for using Facebook to incite disorder.

Jordan Blackshaw, 20, from Marston near Northwich, and Perry Sutcliffe-Keenan, 22, from Warrington, appeared at Chester crown court on Tuesday. They were arrested last week following incidents of violent disorder in London and other cities across the UK.

Neither of their Facebook posts resulted in a riot-related event.

During the sentencing, the recorder of Chester, Elgin Edwards, praised the swift actions of Cheshire police and said he hoped the sentences would act as a deterrent to others.

Finance

One of the much touted advantages of Bitcoin is its anonymity. The full record of all transactions is by the very nature of Bitcoin completely public. However, transactions move coins between a set of incoming addresses and a set of outgoing addresses, and the addresses are not tied to any particular entity; an address may belong to anyone and Bitcoin includes no way to tell.

Internet/Net Neutrality

Does your Internet Service Provider (ISP) give you the kind of performance that it advertises? The FCC has just completed a year-long study that found that many ISPs don’t do so. The study involved tests performed on both download and upload speeds from many top providers. According to the Hot Hardware blog: “Most of the ISPs hit 90 percent of their advertised upload speeds, which is good, except that the reason that the upload speeds of broadband providers are always significantly lower than their download speeds is because most people are much more concerned with how long it takes for something to download than it does to upload.”

The King is dead. The popular singer passed away on this day in 1977 after a horrendous decline. Yet decades later, thanks to the magic of a commercially inspired cult, Elvis is still everywhere2. The Elvis estate has often been abusive of fans, to the point of harassing anyone who’d sell a black velvet portrait. Sill, Elvis lingers.

The Microsoft monopoly will follow the same trajectory as well as software can. It is inflicted on people who buy new computers. Small time IT people who don’t know anything else push it onto small businesses because that’s what comes out of the box. People hate it. Despite nearly universal dread of Microsoft’s intentional waste of user’s time and money, Windows lingers by ignorance and inertia. Poor sales of Vista/Windows 7 and great sales of Apple and Android conclusively prove people are tired of Windows and looking for alternatives. A sure sign of rigor mortis is that Microsoft boosters brag that they are not really dead, “So much for all those predictions that Linux would kill Windows.” As long as there’s some money in it, we can expect there to be sales and persistence in out of the way places but Windows is well on the way to vanishing. Big business, government and other “decision makers” did not take Vista and they have ignored Windows 7. Various flavors of Windows will provide a form of kitsch entertainment as it lurks in dark corners of the world, mostly controlled by botnets, blue screening and otherwise frustrating users by lack of freedom. People will be more perplexed by the success rather than the failure of Microsoft and the toy OS that never really could.

At the risk of stating the obvious, I’ll say this right up front: The patent system in both Europe and the United States is the biggest threat to innovation in the world today.

Rather than competing with each other on price and features, the biggest tech companies want to fight it out in court where some Luddite judge—rather than the market—can decide who wins and loses. By claiming that another company has violated some vague patent, one vendor can use the legal system to either block rival products from the market or demand hefty kickbacks (a.k.a. licensing fees) from their makers.

Glyn Moody says, “speaking as a mathematician, I certainly concur with the view that everything is “just maths” in a certain deep sense: that is, we believe that we can, *in theory*, use maths to describe anything that exists. But in practice, some bits are trickier than others.”

Here is a ket line: “This fundamental distinction between software patents and the other kinds is reflected in all the problems that are cited with the former: the fact that they are patents on knowledge, and the fact that you often can’t invent around such patents, because that’s like trying to invent around logic.”

Exactly.

What Google does quite correctly is that it tries to squash Lodsys’ software patents [1, 2, 3], but why did it not make an attempt to squash software patents as a whole? The third link there is the coverage from Groklaw, which is likely to be most accurate. It also speaks of reexamination of Paul Allen’s patents (another patent troll who also attacks Android using software patents).

Brian Kahin has this new piece which remarks on the patent situation in relation to Android. He begins thusly:

I recently wrote about the $4.5 billion auction for Nortel’s portfolio of 6,000 patents that went to a consortium that included Apple, Microsoft, and RIM (Blackberry) — three of four smartphone platforms. In the wake of this sale, Interdigital has contemplated monetizing its portfolio of 8,500 patents, perhaps even putting the company up for sale. Google announced that it has bought over 1,000 patents from IBM for defensive purposes. Perennial investor Carl Icahn suggested that Motorola cash in on some of its immense portfolio of 18000 patents. Analysts have noted that Kodak’s patents may be worth more than Kodak itself.

The value of these patents is not in the technology. These prices are being paid for the power to block others from using technology they have developed independently. Or for the power to block others from blocking you by threatening to block them from using their technology — “assertion” and “counter-assertion.”

The IT sector has learned to live with these practices at some cost, but the patent mania and litigation around smartphones is unprecedented. Nothing like this happened as the personal computer came of age. In Silicon Valley, suing for patent infringement was not part of the culture. Knowledge spread quickly and informally. Employees of rival firms socialized and exchanged ideas — and moved from company to company. The Valley’s unique form of social capital beat out the culture of control along Boston’s Route 128 and made Silicon Valley world famous.

The more highly specialized professionals are in rapid communication with each other, the more likely it becomes that you’ll see innovations that are “obvious” because they involve combining various disparate kinds of incremental prior innovative steps, but which don’t have “prior art”—meaning nobody has taken that exact step before, because it required a bunch of other pieces to be in place before it was viable. So searching for “prior art”—if that means exactly the same preexisting invention—becomes a less reliable guide to what is “obvious” in the relevant sense. But as specialization increases, it also becomes vastly more difficult for a patent examiner with broadly relevant training (engineering and electronics, say) to use his own understanding and expertise as a guide to what is truly “obvious” to someone trained in the specifically relevant domain (say, engineering mobile cellular data networks). It’s increasingly unreasonable to expect even the smartest and most diligent examiner—even assuming away all the bureaucratic and institutional incentives to err on the side of granting patents—to judge the “obviousness” of innovations across an ever-proliferating array of subspecialties.

Timothy B. Lee goes even further by asking, ‘Are software patents the “scaffolding of the tech industry”?’

Quoting Lee’s conclusions: “Of course, it’s possible that the bankrupt company failed because its more successful competitors simply ripped off its technology and undersold it. But at least in software, this is not the common case. More often, many companies independently come up with similar ideas. The company that prevails is the one that executes best, not the one who came up with the idea first. Which means that the patent system simply transfers wealth from those who are good at building useful products to those who are good at navigating the patent system.

“Mace’s post is based on a similar fallacy. He argues that patents are good because they allow a small company like his to prevent a large company like Google or Apple from copying him. Obviously that’s valuable to him, but it’s not clear that it’s good for the economy as a whole.

“Companies have other ways to protect their innovations. They can use copyrights, trade secrets, and the head start that any inventor has over copycats. Mace objects that these protections aren’t adequate to guarantee that the original inventor will win in the marketplace. But that’s the point: consumers benefit from the robust competition that results when inventors have only a limited advantage over competitors. The first company to enter some market shouldn’t be able to simply rest on its laurels. Remember, Facebook was a “me-too competitor” in the social networking space; it’s a good thing that Friendster and MySpace weren’t able to stop Mark Zuckerberg from entering its market.

“The function of the patent system isn’t to maximize the profits of inventors. Rather, it’s to provide inventors with sufficient incentives to ensure they continue innovating. In software, the protections offered by copyrights and trade secrets are already more than adequate to produce a huge amount of innovation. As a bonus, these regimes are less cumbersome and less prone to frivolous litigation than patents.”

We rest assured that Google’s move might provide a short-term fix that assures the growth of Linux in mobile phones. In the long term, Google’s newly-acquired patents too need to be eliminated, along with all the rest. It’s the only way to serve justice that’s inclusive (includes small players and new entrants). █

Summary: Team Microsoft provides a distraction to take people’s attention away from the news about Android getting more solid legal basis

WELL, guess what? It seems as though we correctly predicted this sale of Motorola to Google even a day before it happened. “It’s all about the patents,” says ZDNet in the headline and it is probably true. Motorola also gives Google a chance to fight Microsoft and Apple in court, defending Android from some insidious allegations, using counter-attacks with Motorola patents (Google inherits these legal cases which were invoked separately by Microsoft and Apple). Google is buying them at above real value and Google’s CEO explains why. Here is Google’s official statement. A lot has been written about this already, so we need not say much except that it harms the efforts to fix the patent system but probably helps Linux in the short term.

Here is where it gets interesting. Apart from some dishonest ‘journalists’ who try to spin this against Google, there are some dishonest people, such as a lawyer previously employed by Microsoft (who later spread some lies about Android), who talk nonsense to distract from the above news. It is proposed by Microsoft’s buddy Naughton that Google’s Android has GPL problems. Well, just google “Naughton microsoft” and you will get “Lawyer behind Android infringement claim has Microsoft ties” (he hid his Microsoft ties by deletion and later got caught doing this). We covered this at the time while some reposted known lies. Anyway, his latest decoy spawned some headline trolling [1, 2, 3] and a storm over nothing, possibly promoted by Florian Müller's 'spamming' of journalists. He is debunked in Slashdot and other such sites (waste of space and focus), including Groklaw which writes:

Attorney Edward Naughton of Brown Rudnick has written [ Part II] more misinformation about the GPL in yet another false prediction of Android’s doom. Once again Mr. Naughton takes a non-story and blows it out of proportion, and of course, FOSSPatents does its part to blow hot air into the story as well.

If the idea is to scare off potential Android OEM’s or purchasers of Android-powered phones, this sort of scare tactic is just rubbish. It has failed in the past, and it will fail this time.

People who don’t understand the GPL probably shouldn’t write about it, including lawyers. I’ll show you the mistakes in the article, and please note that while I am a member of the board of directors of Software Freedom Law Center, which will factor into this story, I speak only for myself and Groklaw, not for SFLC in this article.

Unfortunately, Edward Naughton is at it again, and everyone keeps emailing me about, including Brian Proffitt, who quoted my email response to him this morning in his article.

As I said in my response to Brian, I’ve written before on this issue and I have nothing much more to add. Naughton has not identified a GPL violation that actually occurred, at least with respect to Google’s own distribution of Android, and he has completely ignored my public call for him to make such a formal report to the copyright holders of GPL violations for which he has evidence (if any).

Even as Google announced their acquisition plans for Motorola Mobility today, vague legal accusations were re-hashed by IP attorney Edward J. Naughton that imply that all Android manufacturers are at risk of losing their rights to distribute Android because of they did not comply with the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL). But the head of the Software Freedom Conservancy states there are still, despite the arm waving, no legitimate claims made on Android GPL violation.
Actually, Naughton doesn’t just imply problems for Android vendors, he just comes right out and says it: Android manufacturers have already lost their licenses to distribute GPLed code inside Android.
“Not long ago, open source advocates sued more than a dozen major consumer electronics manufacturers, claiming that the manufacturers had lost the right to use GPL’d software in their devices. It looks like the same could be said of Android: virtually every one is unlicensed,” Naughton wrote in his blog.

One of Naughton’s biggest cheerleaders, FOSSPatent author Florian Mueller, is also explicit in his own amplification of Naughton’s theories:

Nothing to see here then. Microsoft is still briefing its gang which includes lobbyists like Microsoft Florian, who occasionally communicates with Naughton as well. it’s just a coordinated attack on Android. You can only cry “Wolf!” twice. Why is anyone paying attention to those people rather than cover the real news, which is about Android gaining a patent shield against Apple’s and Microsoft’s patent cartel? █

Summary: Apple caught lying in a way that can get Apple — not Android makers — deep in hot water for lying to the German judge

“‘Samsung vs Apple in Europe’ for dummies” is the headline of this analysis from LXer, which disappointingly enough cites a lobbyist against Android, Microsoft Florian. “For everybody who understands less about the current Apple/ Samsung battle in EU than I do,” writes the dutch author, “here’s my attempt to share the few things I understand with you. I’ll briefly discuss the situation in both Germany and the Netherlands. The article should be especially suited for those who cannot read Dutch / German and are not up to date with what has been happening the last few days.”

“This story is a good fit because the company is based on a marketing lie, a delusion, a distortion of reality.”Meanwhile, Dutch/German sources suggest that the whole ban was based on fabrication and that this battle remains to be played (the ban might get reversed). To quote Slashdot: “The Dutch site webwereld.nl has found incorrect evidence submitted by Apple (Google translation of Dutch original) in the EU design-right case against Samsung. In the ex-parte case, a German judge recently issued a temporary injunction against the sale of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the whole EU except the Netherlands. The faulty evidence is a side-by-side picture of an iPad 2 and the Galaxy Tab. The Tab is scaled to fit the iPad2, and the aspect ratio is changed from 1.46 to 1.36, which more closely matches the iPad 2 aspect ratio of 1.3, according to webwereld.nl.”

Here is what IDG has to say. “It’s just getting worse for Apple,” remarks the person who gave the link. “Apple Offers Flawed Evidence in Lawsuit against Samsung” is the headline and “it appears that Apple has failed to provide the German judge with accurate evidence. At least one of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 pictures that Apple provided as evidence in the German case is either wrong or manipulated. Photographic evidence submitted by Apple, found on page 28 of the German complaint, shows two pictures: the iPad 2 and the alleged Galaxy Tab 10.1, accompanied by Apple’s claim that the “overall appearance” of two products is “practically identical.””

“Take a look at the pictures on the link — obviously the Galaxy picture was tampered with,” remarks the person who gave this link, “squashed down to make the Galaxy Tab 10.1 look to be shaped like an iPad2. What sleazy, lying assholes they have at Apple.” In our Wiki we have had a page titled “Apple Deception”. This story is a good fit because the company is based on a marketing lie, a delusion, a distortion of reality. █

Summary: The “Linux is just a desktop” pattern of FUD gets used by Microsoft boosters (with a new hat) to rile up and ridicule supporters of GNU/Linux, which thrives in many areas and spawns new brands (like “Android”)

A Microsoft booster from Directions on Microsoft (Matt Rosoff, who left them last year only to promote Microsoft, as a seemingly-independent writer) started to spread some more GNU/Linux FUD last week. We have already given many examples, some of which well covered in this site, where he was advancing Microsoft agenda and this is just his latest (no links given as that would only feed a provocateur). Brian Proffitt, whose defence against this is weak (he helps validate the false allegations), neglects to mention the conflict of interest from this shameless Microsoft booster who now pretends to be a journalist. The only proper responses we have found so far help show that this FUD also got echoed by other Microsoft boosters such as Ed Bott. We were going to just ignore this FUD rather than give it any visibility. However, rebuttals have already been posted (around Monday), so we might as well give links to those:

Whereas said documents used to include Linux as a primary threat to Windows — alongside Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) — Redmond’s documents now reportedly don’t mention any competitive threat from desktop Linux at all, according to a recent article on Business Insider, which cites a tweet by Directions on Microsoft’s Wes Miller.

[...]

Of course, embedded Linux is still acknowledged as a problem in that arena — not to mention servers, of course — but author Matt Rosoff (formerly with Directions on Microsoft as well, it most certainly should be noted) comes to a very happy conclusion anyway: “So much for all those predictions that Linux would kill Windows,” he writes.

Sure, on the desktop, it’s a Windows world, but guess what Sherlock; the desktop is declining in importance. The mobile, server, Web and cloud worlds are where the twenty-teens’ billionaires will come from, not the desktop. And, guess, who’s already in all those spaces large and in charge? Yes, that’s right, Linux.

In IRC, Ryan explains this morning: “They declared victory on the desktop [...] how strange that this has nothing to do with their market share [...] and comes just as the DOJ oversight is going away and they don’t need to pretend they have credible competition there anymore”

“Microsoft revived Apple back in the 90s,” Ryan elaborates, “when they nearly bankrupted themselves after a long line of stupid business decisions [...] what’s going on with Novell is the same thing, just a different market” [...] (We have competition, they even compete using our technologies) [...] not on the desktop, that has always been a misleading truth, but the money is in servers and workstations and now phones and tablets so they’re the majority holder of a platform that is not growing and in fact, is starting to recede”